Social entrepreneurship is about solving problems. Tell us about the challenge you are focused on addressing and why it is critical that we make progress.

First Step Staffing is a nonprofit staffing agency whose mission is to fight homelessness and poverty. Founded in 2007, First Step’s focusing on securing sustainable income for individuals transitioning out of homelessness, including veterans, re-entering citizens, and others with significant barriers to employment. “There were a lot of work readiness programs…but there weren’t really jobs at the end of them. So we decided to start First Step Staffing to create that pipeline,” said Greg Block, who founded the nonprofit in 2007. What makes First Step different than traditional for-profit staffing agencies is that they give priority to those who may have some kind of “barriers for employment,” said Dave Shaffer, CEO.

Your Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey that requires connections and support from a wide array of stakeholders across the ecosystem to help successfully identify, start, and grow a social enterprise.

In January 2018, First Step Staffing announced its expansion into Philadelphia through its acquisition of the Philadelphia-based division of On Time Staffing—a for-profit staffing company founded 18 years ago specializing in warehouse, packaging, and manufacturing jobs—which will now become part of First Step’s nonprofit operations. In the first 12 months of operation in Philadelphia, First Step expects to employ 500 homeless men and women and grow to serve more than 1,000 by year three.

The Philadelphia acquisition was funded by philanthropic dollars, including a significant grant from The Barra Foundation, support from the City of Philadelphia, investments by a consortium of socially-minded members of Investors’ Circle, and a senior acquisition loan from four Community Development Financial Institutions (“CDFIs”), including Nonprofit Finance Fund (“NFF”), Reinvestment Fund, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.

The expansion into Philadelphia came two years after First Step completed its first successful acquisition of a for-profit staffing company in Atlanta. That acquisition helped the organization more than double the reach of its offering in home-town Atlanta, where First Step now places over 1,000 men and women per day into the workforce.

Atlanta, Georgia is booming in the field of tech. It's the sixth fastest growing start-up city in the US, generating 20,000 programming jobs with an average salary of about $85K. An Atlanta charter public school teacher by day, Jeffrey Martín sees the obvious opportunity for his students, if they're given the chance. He wants Atlanta's next generation to be educated as coders, so they can compete for lucrative jobs offered in their hometown. Read more about Jeffrey's work through honorCode here: https://gasocialimpact.com/jeffrey-martin-of-honorcode/ ... See more

Opportunity Zones (OZs) could lead to greater infusions of capital into historically underinvested neighborhoods. And with over 250 OZs in Georgia, only 27 of which are in Atlanta, much of our state is eligible for investment.

But use this as a warning sign: The legislation provides investors with the ability to invest without regard to the social impacts of their investments.

Today is the last day to apply for the Global Social Venture Competition, which is in its 20th year of turning ideas into impact! If you are a young start-up aiming to make a difference in the world using technology for good, apply to compete in #GSVC2019 to win up to $80,000 in prizes! Learn more at www.gsvc.org. ... See more

Empowering the next generation of social entrepreneurs by providing mentoring, exposure, and over $80,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into ventures.

The 2018 Social Enterprise Ecosystem survey is live! If you work in the social enterprise space, please take the time to complete this survey. As a token of our appreciation, you can be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card or a ticket to SOCAP 2019. We look forward to sharing the new SEER report with you in May 2019! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SEER2019 ... See more

Our new series #DefinetheJargon, which seeks to demystify the terms that surround the world of impact investing, continues this week with "social enterprise." A group of words that you have likely heard tossed around a lot is defined here in these three slides. How are they differentiated from traditional charities and businesses? How do you compare their impact? Read more at https://gasocialimpact.com/. ... See more

Atlanta, Georgia is booming in the field of tech. It's the sixth fastest growing start-up city in the US, generating 20,000 programming jobs with an average salary of about $85K. An Atlanta charter public school teacher by day, Jeffrey Martín sees the obvious opportunity for his students, if they're given the chance. He wants Atlanta's next generation to be educated as coders, so they can compete for lucrative jobs offered in their hometown. Read more about Jeffrey's work through honorCode here: https://gasocialimpact.com/jeffrey-martin-of-honorcode/ ... See more

Opportunity Zones (OZs) could lead to greater infusions of capital into historically underinvested neighborhoods. And with over 250 OZs in Georgia, only 27 of which are in Atlanta, much of our state is eligible for investment.

But use this as a warning sign: The legislation provides investors with the ability to invest without regard to the social impacts of their investments.

Today is the last day to apply for the Global Social Venture Competition, which is in its 20th year of turning ideas into impact! If you are a young start-up aiming to make a difference in the world using technology for good, apply to compete in #GSVC2019 to win up to $80,000 in prizes! Learn more at www.gsvc.org. ... See more

Empowering the next generation of social entrepreneurs by providing mentoring, exposure, and over $80,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into ventures.

The 2018 Social Enterprise Ecosystem survey is live! If you work in the social enterprise space, please take the time to complete this survey. As a token of our appreciation, you can be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card or a ticket to SOCAP 2019. We look forward to sharing the new SEER report with you in May 2019! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SEER2019 ... See more

Our new series #DefinetheJargon, which seeks to demystify the terms that surround the world of impact investing, continues this week with "social enterprise." A group of words that you have likely heard tossed around a lot is defined here in these three slides. How are they differentiated from traditional charities and businesses? How do you compare their impact? Read more at https://gasocialimpact.com/. ... See more